Effects of Insulin Resistance on Weightloss

SkinnyDevi

Hi Everyone,

I'm wondering if there is anyone that can shed some light on how being insulin resistant/glucose intolerant affects weightloss. My doctor said that losing weight would be an uphill battle for me since I am insulin resistant/glocuse intolerant. I've tried to read up on but a lot of what i'm reading is way over my head. I've been working on weightloss for over 3 months and my weightloss is very slow considering the fact that I'm almost always within my calories and exercise frequently. I'm just looking for insight (in plain english) from people who are familiar with this issue or deal with it personally. Thanks!!

mikeyml

I'm really interested in learning more about this topic too. If anyone has any reading material to offer then I'd be interested to check it out.

FairyMiss

caught my interest too

Nysie5

BUMP

623Hernandez

bump

jenthestrawberry

I do not know much about this topic, but I do like many parts of the leangains.com approach to eating. It works for me, and the author of the site has some ideas about this. http://www.leangains.com/2010/09/fasted-training-insulin-sensitivity.html

tina97016

I wish I could help! I am in the same boat as you are, Really hope to see some good information also. I keep telling myself slow and steady will win the race. Good luck on your goals. I would love to hear what has worked for you so far!

linemansgirl

I just finished a book that dealt largely with this subject, it was VERY enlightening. The Schwarzbein Principle: The Truth About Losing Weight, Being Healthy, and Feeling Younger by Diana Schwarzbein and Nancy Deville

I am giving it a try, I am at my goal weight but I still have more "insulin meter" (you would need to read the book) flab around my middle than I would like. I definitely recommend the book!

mgmlap

Basically for us who are insulin resistant..carbs are not our friend. I have both PCOS and hypothyroid..so my doc pretty much told me not to eat processed foods. Our bodies dont process sugar like normal people..so we have to watch both carbs and sugars.
For me, I had to be put on Metformin for PCOS..and Armour thyroid for the hypothyroid. Without changing anything, I lost 13 pounds. By exercising I lost an additional 3 pounds in 2 weeks..And this last week I lost 3 pounds by changing my diet and drinking loads of water.

With insulin resistance, our metabolism slows down...thats the reason we need to stay away from processed carbs. My doctor only has me eating 1 grain a day...which is hard cause I love bread.

My doctor has me on a 1200 calorie diet..and if I do eat sugar..making sure its natural..like whats in berries. I was told to stay away from banans cause of the high sugar content..but thats me..

I would suggest that you go to a nutritionist..and let them tell you what would be a good diet ...I didnt think I needed to go..but after going..I am soooo glad.

Hope this helps

QueenHanifa

I'm insulin resistance but having great results..I changed my setting to carbs 120 and sugar is set at 24 .I upped my protien to 90 and losing steady with moderate excersise.Also my A1c has improved..in the last 2 months I do drink more than 8 glasses of water and eat fresh fruit but try to avoid refine sugar.

StrawberrySprinkles

This is what I remember from my initial meeting with a specialist when I was diagnosed with PCOS, which contributes to insulin resistance.

Basically:

If you treat your cell like a lock...and the insulin as a key. The key unlocks the cell's door to allow in the carbs/sugar/energy, etc to keep the cells/your body going. BUT in being insulin resistant, it means that it may take more than one key (a higher dose of insulin) to get the door open. (When this happens you run the risk of your pancreas not releasing as much insulin because it's exhausted, which will result in having to take insulin injections to get the same kind of kick, but this will only happen a bit down the line if it's not given the attention it needs.) If you can't get the door open to get that energy in, the carbs and excess energy will turn into fat. Drs highly recommend exercising regularly to help burn up any excess sugar/carbs that your body can't deal with.

As you know being insulin resistant means that you will experience being tired more often. I'm not sure what the treatment in the US is. However, in the UK, they recommend a steady supply of carbs. Nothing too high. Things like oatmeal, brown rice, grains, and such. Anything that will give a slow release of energy so that the pancreas doesn't feel too over burdened, but yet still giving you the sustained energy you need to keep going and if you're going to indulge in a carb like white bread or pasta, it should be consumed with protein as it helps keep it from burning too quickly.

Hopefully, I remembered everything correctly. I do find limiting carbs and sugar like white rice, bread, and white pastas, etc does help in not feeling as tired or the reverse of feeling too wired from having a ready supply through out the day.

As far as weight loss is concerned, I'm not sure how it affects it in the long term other than steady as she goes seems to work the best. You won't see results in huge numbers, but those small numbers do add up.

Tiggermummy

Hi Everyone,

I suffer from insulin restance brought on by PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) this makes it very easy to pile on the weight as your body doesn't use the insulin it produces very well and will convert stuff to fat very quickly.
I started loosing weight after christmas, I had for many years been the same weight +/- a couple of lb, but then I suddenly gained 14lb without changing anything!
So after a couple of months I did decide to go to the docs as I had an issue with my bloodworks a few years ago, so I had seen an endicrinologist, he had suggested I take metformin to assist in combatting the effects of the PCOS.
I do now take the met I am not as regular with it as I should be get, I did loose about half my lost weight before I started taking it.
But on doing some research I found out .....

Sugar - the more processed / refined sugar you can remove from your diet the better, I don't take sugar in drinks anyway, I prefer the taste of the diet ones (even though they have lots of chemicals instead). I do try and watch the intake of sweets, biscuits cakes etc as they do have lots of extra sugar. I don't stress about the sugar in fruit, but i don't eat as much as I used too.
Carbs - I do eat a lot less of these than I used to on most days, If I do eat them I spread them out over the day, so where a year ago I would have two small rolls for my lunch with a packet of crisps. I changed it to one at lunch time, one in the afternoon (around 3.30) and dropped the crisps all together.

I think my ratio of protein/carbs/fat are set around 50/30/20 but I am still tweaking it after a few months at a time, and looking on how I feel, but you do have to give it time to see what effect the adjustments make, it won't be instantanious.

Water, water and even more water.

Sorry I don't have any links, but hope some of what I have written helps.

Good luck on your journeys, and remember every lb lost no matter how long it takes helps!

Larius

I am not a doctor. But I am prediabetic.
In a healthy person insulin levels follow blood glucose levels. Insulin is a way for your body to see how much glucose it has in the bloodstream.
When insulin is high (and therefore blood glucose), your cells are signaled to take in and use that glucose for energy, and your liver start to convert it to glycogen and then fat to be stored around the body.
When insulin is low, your cells are signaled to use more fat for energy, and the liver converts stored glycogen to glucose and converts fat into a form your body can use for energy.

There are many other hormones involved, but you asked for simple, so it's easiest to just think of insulin driving the whole process.

When a person is insulin resistant neither of these processes work as they do in a healthy person. When you're in a caloric deficit, your insulin level should be lower on average, which should cause your body to "switch" to burning more fat for energy. In an insulin resistant person this may not happen as well as in a healthy person, so instead of burning fat you just feel tired.

The cause of insulin resistance in still being debated, but we do know this: regular exercise of any kind improves insulin resistance.

irridia

Check out "The Diabetes Solution" (google), the movie "Fat Head" (avail streaming on hulu and netflix) . Try dropping your carbs to as close to 100g/day as you can get. Try also weight lifting if you havent' lifted before start small w/5 sets of 5 reps each and add 5 lbs on your next work out.

Also ask your insurance and your doctor if you can use Byetta. It activates a helper hormone that helped me drop weight without much effort.

Good luck!

StrawberrySprinkles

For me, I had to be put on Metformin for PCOS..and Armour thyroid for the hypothyroid. Without changing anything, I lost 13 pounds. By exercising I lost an additional 3 pounds in 2 weeks..And this last week I lost 3 pounds by changing my diet and drinking loads of water.

I started taking 3 doses of Metformin a number of years ago as it was supposed to help kick start my periods and fertility again. Other than having lost a little bit of weight with it and getting an occasional stomachache from it, I'm not sure if it helps or not. :laugh:

lauz45

Can I ask how those of you who are insulin resistant found out? What symptoms did you have?

StrawberrySprinkles

I think I had multiple symptoms at once.

Originally, it all started with not having my monthly visitor and not being taken seriously by my dr at the time then it moved onto having an unusually high blood pressure (which resulted in symptoms of being overly tired and dizzy).

I was fortunate enough to have seen a dr who was sitting in for my original one and he did listen to what I had to say and my concerns at not having had a period for over a year. He told me to start seeing him from now on and recommended that I register at a new office that was opening up as they were a little more progressive than my usual dr. They did a few hormone tests and other related tests and found that my sugar and cholesterol was a little bit high for having a normal diet, but the real stinker was seeing a specialist who did an ultrasound scan of my lower tummy to see why 'ze visitor' wasn't appearing.

Though the one thing I can say about insulin resistance is that you can go years without realizing you have it. I did. Once I started taking medication for it, everything else fell into place.

Being constantly tired was depressing as hell and made me feel demotivated as exercise or anything strenuous seemed to result in being even more tired and moody because of feeling hopelessly tired in the first place. Gradually building up the exercise helps: start out small and work at it for longer lengths of time.

It seems insulin resistance and fertility for women is a vicious circle. They aren't 100% sure if the PCOS causes the insulin resistance or if the insulin resistance causes the PCOS. Seems to be a couple of schools of debate on that one. :P

lauz45

Thank you, i'm glad you were able to be diagnosed and are getting it sorted. My friend has PCOS and suffers with her weight, acne and excess hair, aswell as a separate issue of hip dysplasia, I really feel for her.

There's definately something wrong with me, everyone thinks so. My main symptom is constant exhaustion. After lunch, at work, it'll hit me like a ton of bricks - the last 2 days i've had 10 mins of fighting to stay awake, and there's not a lot I can do to snap out of it, I just fight it until it passes. It happens when I drive for long distances too, so I make my boyfriend drive. I'm known in class (when i'm training for work) for falling asleep if they show a PowerPoint, and it's really embarrassing. Today I was in a meeting full of male colleagues i'd never met and I was fiddling with my pen, the table, my hands, to stay awake! The lack of TOTM worries me because i'm on the mini pill where I don't ever have them...I got a deep vein thrombosis in my calf from the combined pill (at 26, great!) so had to come off it, and in 8 months, I had one monthly visit. I'm also thirsty a lot too though so i'm worried it could be this, hypothyroidism (mum has it) or even diabetes. Must go to the doctor, I just don't think they'll take me seriously They told me my DVT was a pulled muscle. I think my nurse friend might have saved my life on that one!

atomiclauren

Bump...

FWIW, I'm a type 1 diabetic but have guessed I've become insulin resistant in the last decade or so..
What seems to help the uphill battle: less carbs and more exercise. My body really needs to be pushed to get that metabolism going!

SkinnyDevi

Thanks everyone for your kind responses. I'm gathering at a minimum that I need to watch my carbs and exercise more. I can definitely do that.

@Lauz45: I was diagnosed because my doctor originally thought I had PCOS since I almost all the symptoms. I went through two rounds of testing with two different doctors and it turned out that I didn't have PCOS. Then I had further testing done and they said that I was insulin resistant. My doc at the time wanted to put me on Metformin because he thought that it could help. I was adverse to taking meds at the time so I didn't take it. Now, I'm thinking that may have been a mistake and am trying to see if I should be on it at this point.

As for weightloss, i'm losing but it's really slow. It's just frustrating because I'm eating better and definitely exercising more than before but the weight is coming off slowly. That being said, I am going to look at my diet again and see how I can reduce my carbs.

wanttogetskinny

Like fenestraria above, I'm a Type 1 diabetic, but have also developed insulin resistance in the past 5 years or so. I'm trying to cut down on carbs, and find that it's helping a lot. I literally used to consume 250+ a day. Now it's between 100 and 150, and I want to get it down to 100.

Diabetics of any kind, and those with other forms of insulin resistance, can't process carbohydrates like other people can. We need more insulin to process the same number of carbs, and higher insulin levels in the blood stream mean that during that time fat can't be burned or used for fuel!

BeeElMarvin

If there is a diabetes education class offered near you, see if your insurance will cover it (they are expensive) and attend. I was advised to limit carbs, limit portions, watch what I eat in general and exercise. It seems to be working for me so far.

bmw4deb

I was diagnosed Type 11 diabetic almost 12 yrs ago
I took 4 pills and 2 shots per day for the past 4 years
Watch the carbs !! I eat probably 80% clean I try and
avoid processed foods as much as possible and get
at least 60 minutes of exercise everyday .
I have lost 52lbs since Jan and have NOT taken any diabetic
meds since April 15th my blood sugars run consistently 100-104
(was never below 350 prior) I have more energy than I can ever
remember having before, No more naps yesss!
it can be a struggle but it can be done I;m proof positive. Eat as clean as
possible and get moving, there is a whole other world out here waiting for
you to arrive come on over :drinker:

irdietinfo

Hey everyone, I noticed you all said you were looking for info on this subject and I have started a website where I have been writing everything I'm learning about insulin resistance - the link is http://insulinresistancediet.info or you can find me on Facebook too (same name). It is getting easier for me as the months go on. Weight loss for me is slow (maybe because I am older and don't have a lot to lose) but it's working and I do find the appetite control a miracle! I hope some of you will read my website and get some value out of it. I've been writing it to share with people in the same situation.

mom23nuts

if you have the chance watch the documentary Fat Head it shows in animation form what your body goes through as being insulin resistant.

I have PCOS and IR too in my understanding it makes the body produce more insulin to figure out what to do with all the sugar and carbs from the food and then it locks it away in cells as fat rather than possible energy sources....I may be missing a few steps along the way in the explaination so the documentary is great to undersatnd the basics of it.

weight loss is VERY hard with IR and PCOS and even though I am watching carbs and taking my metformin and exercising like a fiend, it is still SLOW going....gaining is a breeze but losing is a lesson in torture and extreme patience and I am not a patient person.

polarduke

For understanding insulin resistance and how to address it, I recommend two books which I have both read and enjoyed. Both are written in a very conversational style.
1) Why We Get Fat and What To Do About It - Gary Taubes
2) Trick and Treat - Barry Groves, MD